Chapter 11
After taking the photo for their marriage registration, Leon drove Eleanor straight back to the Whitman residence.
As he had expected, the usually quiet driveway was swarming with people. Aaron had shown
up
with the entire Ford family and a bunch of their cronies, blocking the front gates and forcing their car to stop.
Leon rolled down the window, turned his head, and stared lazily at the crowd. His eyes locked onto Aaron as he spoke with that usual carefree drawl. “Well, well, well, look who it is–Mrs. Ford Senior and Mr. Ford themselves. What brings such distinguished guests to my humble home?”
Seeing Leon still playing dumb sent Aaron into a rage. He clenched his jaw and barked, “Hand over Nora! Leon, if you don’t, I swear this isn’t over!”
Leon looked far too amused by Aaron’s fury, the smirk on his lips only growing bolder.
“Mr. Ford, haven’t we always been at each other’s throats? When have we ever been done with each other? If you want to fight, go for it–I’m always ready. But as for Nora? She’s Mrs. Whitman now, so I’d advise you to keep your distance.”
“Mrs. Whitman? What the hell are you talking about?”
The people standing behind Aaron all exchanged confused glances, and even Aaron was
thrown off.
“She’s my fiancée! Since when did she become your wife? What is this, Leon–did crashing the wedding go to your head?”
Aaron’s face was red with disbelief, and that only made Leon feel even more triumphant. Without a word, he pulled out their freshly issued marriage certificate and held it up like a trophy through the open window, showing off the photo.
“Now, Mr. Ford, don’t go accusing me of nonsense. Nora and I are legally married. And since you’re all here, why don’t you take a look at our beautiful marriage certificate? Hot off the press.”
The crowd surged forward, craning their necks to see. But what ‘caught their attention even. more than their smiling faces in the photo was the bold government seal at the bottom of the
page.
After double and triple–checking, even Aaron’s crew looked visibly shaken. “Aaron, this marriage certificate looks real…”
Aaron’s face drained of color in an instant. He lunged forward and snatched the certificate out of Leon’s hand, going through it again and again in disbelief.
He couldn’t process It His mind shut down, and anger took over. In a flash, he tore the certificate into shreds and let the pleces scatter the breeze.
Leon watched the scraps flutter through the air with mock regret, then turned to Eleanor with exaggerated concern. “Darling, he just shredded our marriage certificate. What should we do?”
A calm voice sounded from the passenger seat. “Didn’t we get two coples?”
Leon’s face lit up like he just had an epiphany. With a grin, he pulled out the second marriage certificate and held it up proudly inside the car. “Now, can everyone stop questioning whether Nora and I are married? This is between us, husband and wife–none of you outsiders have any say.”
His words hit like a punch to the gut. Everyone standing there suddenly recalled last night and the way Leon had smiled like he was ten steps ahead. Finally, they understood that this wedding crash wasn’t spontaneous–it had been planned all along.
The blow hit Aaron harder than Nora leaving him at the altar. He stared into the car, trying to catch a glimpse of her face through the tinted windows, but all he could see was the curve of her slender neck. Then, the realization slammed into him, and the pain rushed in all at once. “You planned this, didn’t you, Eleanor? You were planning to run away the whole time!”
Her voice came out steady and clear, not a flicker of guilt on her face. “Yes. I planned it from the beginning.”
Leon beamed and added casually, “We actually talked it through while you were at the OB/GYN appointment. Remember that day? You picked her up afterward and she threw away a trench coat–ring any bells?”
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